WITH challenges all around, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is known for his bold approach to problems and issues, sounded confident during his wide-ranging interaction with senior editors of various newspapers, columnists and anchorpersons in Islamabad on Tuesday. The Premier, who spoke about the opposition’s protest movement, the coronavirus pandemic and international conspiracies being hatched against Pakistan, showed his determination to address these challenges effectively, adding that he would be the ultimate victor.
Going by the fact that the government and the opposition were poles apart on various issues and they are missing no opportunity to add to the political tension, the remarks made by the Prime Minister in relations to handling of the protest movement of the opposition parties have raised hopes for reconciliation, which is need of the hour. While expressing determination that the government would hold by-elections in case the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) implemented its plan of tendering en mass resignations from assemblies, Imran Khan also expressed willingness of the government to hold a dialogue with the opposition on every issue adding, however, that “no talks on giving NRO will be held with the opposition”. It was also encouraging that the Prime Minister reiterated the position of the government that it will neither allow nor give permission for holding of the proposed public rally by PDM at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13. The Prime Minister repeated the allegations that were usually levelled in the past on such occasions that the opposition was being supported by some countries with agenda of destabilizing Pakistan. However, if true, there is all the more need to handle domestic political issues with care through dialogue and discussion and preferably from the forum of Parliament which is presently somewhat irrelevant due to various reasons. As for delay in initiating dialogue with the IMF and institutional reforms, two issues that the Prime Minister has dubbed as his biggest mistakes, no one would disagree that there was need for reforms in institutions but the objective should have been achieved without large-scale retrenchments and ultimate privatization. Reforms should lead to improvement in their efficiency as they became productive in the past when they were headed by committed professionals and there was no interference in their working.
